Black Pearl
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Commercial Description
Take some of the finest Yunnan-grown black tea you can imagine and then hand-roll and dry it into tight little balls of deliciousness and you've got these amazingly delightful Black Tea Pearls from MandalaTea.
Ratings & Reviews
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
90 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5E. Alex Gerster (66 reviews) on Oct. 16th, 2013
This is one of those teas that I first purchased a few years ago, and became one of my few go-to teas when I needed a bit of warmth and comfort. I know it is either in short supply or sold. At right now, but I was overjoyed to be able to add an ounce to my last order!
Complex, warm and soothing. This is great tea for several infusions and yields a complex cup that is robust and strongly aromatic. Each steeping has its own unique tones, with peppery spice hints mixing with the primary flavor of Yunnan.
Let's hope that Mandala is able secure a new shipment of this tea in the next year, and in the mean time they have a few similar Yunnan black teas (Golden Strand, Pure Bud Black, and Black Gold) you should try!
91 Aroma: 9/10 Flavor: 5/5 Value: 4/5Alex Zorach (1448 reviews) on Sep. 5th, 2013
Top notch! A rich, complex black tea with a classic Yunnan character, yet a unique signature of its own. Great for multiple infusions, and exhibits different characteristics in each cup.
Mandala recommended 2-4 pearls; it looks like 3 pearls is about a typical serving that I'd use for a cup of tea, so that was spot-on.
Infuses very fast. The pearls unfurl quickly and the tea itself seems to steep quickly, producing a robust, strongly aromatic cup with a dark color even after 1 minute.
Aroma is potent, complex, and peculiar. It has some interesting floral tones, and is also suggestive of nutmeg. The resemblance to nutmeg is striking. This tea practically screams "Yunnnan" both with its aroma and slightly peppery finish.
The second infusion has a smokey quality, like wood smoke, that was totally absent in the first cup. It tastes more similar to a lot of darker, traditional Fujian teas I've had, like traditional Lapsang Souchong (not the intensely smoky stuff).
The third infusion is milder, even when steeping for more than 5 minutes. It's not quite as complex, but still very enjoyable. I found the third infusion had a cleaner, cooler feel, and was less smoky and less vegetal. I think that's about all I can get out of this tea. Still, 3 good steeps is impressive.
This tea is pricey--but that's to be understood with these rolled teas--and I think this tea has quality to back it up...when considering how well it works with multiple steepings, and how good it is overall, I think this tea offers good value.
Page 1 of 1 page with 2 reviews
